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Step into the holiday wonderland of the 32nd Annual Bellefonte Victorian Christmas, but watch out for some of its characters.

They may be stepping around you.

Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchet and the Fezziwigs will return to Bellefonte in all their festive sartorial splendor to stroll around and greet visitors during the Dec. 12-15 celebration.

They’re among the many attractions scheduled for the traditional holiday extravaganza organized by the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association. Carolers, arts and crafts vendors, concerts, horse-drawn carriage rides, gingerbread houses, visits with Santa and more await to put even the biggest Scrooge in a holiday mood.

Allentown, PA – An ensemble of 37 actors will enlist the audience’s help to finish the story of Charles Dickens’ final novel, when the musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” opens at Muhlenberg College, Oct. 25.

Composer Rupert Holmes’ Tony Award-winning musical presents Dickens’ murder mystery as a play within a play. The world of Victorian music hall and melodrama is the backdrop for the exploits of the Theatre Royale, whose actors attempt to complete the unfinished story.

The musical plays Oct. 25 through Nov. 3 in Muhlenberg’s Empire Theatre, in the Baker Center for the Arts.

“‘Drood’ appeals to me because of the show’s wild spirit,” says Muhlenberg theater professor Charles Richter, who directs the production. “Hopefully our production will capture that whimsical essence.”

The play’s most whimsical and most challenging element is its ending: there isn’t one. When the actors of the Theatre Royale reach the point in the story when Dickens laid down his pen for good, they turn to the audience to determine how the story will end. Who turns out to be the murderer? It’s up to the audience.

In fact, patrons have four decisions to make about the outcome of the play. They must select a murderer, a detective in disguise, and a pair of lovers. There are hundreds of possible permutations — and the cast must be ready for any of them.

“The main hook of the show is that the audience determines what will happen,” Richter says. “As far as I know, that makes ‘Drood’ unique among musicals.”

All those extra endings make for extra work for the cast, who will prepare an entire hour of material for potential endings, much of which may never be performed. Senior Stefanie Goldberg, who plays Drood, says she expects some fierce but good-natured competition among the cast to turn the voting in their favor. After all, the “winners” get to perform an extra song at the end of the show.

“I think it’s a different process for everyone, because there are so many different layers with which to work,” Goldberg says. “It’s a challenge for any actor. It’s just as exciting for us as it is for the audience.”

Dickens began writing “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” in 1870 but died the same year. The novel was to be published in 12 installments, but he completed only six, leaving his readers on the edge of their seats. Subsequent authors and playwrights, including Dickens’ son, tried to complete the story, without success.

Fast-forward 100 years or so; pop composer Rupert Holmes rediscovered the mysterious unfinished novel. Having spent his childhood in London, Holmes was familiar with the style of British Musical Hall performances. He used his own childhood experiences at the theater and his growing interest for the novel to build the musical version of “Drood.”

Best known for his 1970s hit “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” Holmes says he undertook the project because he was looking for a challenge.

“I’d been a relatively successful pop songwriter, I’d done a couple albums with Barbra Streisand,” he says. “And I was looking at that time in my life to try to write something that wasn’t three-and-a-half minutes with a fade ending — something more expansive. I was reading the novel, and I said, ‘You know, there’s a musical in this.'”

“Drood” premiered in 1986 at the New York Shakespeare Festival, where it ran for two years. It was revived on Broadway in 2012 at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Winner of five Tony awards in 1986 and nominated for five for the recent revival, the show features zany show-stopping musical numbers, and over-the-top comedy.

The production features musical direction by Ed Bara and choreography by Jeffrey Peterson. Conductor Vince Di Mura leads an 18-piece orchestra that will round out the show’s Music Hall sensibility.

The show features a 19th century British Music Hall-inspired set by Tim Averill with elaborate scenic painting designed by Emily Baldasarra. Nicole Wee designs costumes. Susan Hamburger serves as lighting designer.

All productions are performed at Muhlenberg College, one of the top-rated college performance programs in the country according to the Princeton Review rankings. Muhlenberg is a liberal arts college of more than 2,200 students in Allentown, Pa., offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre and dance.

The season features six fully mounted theatrical productions and three mainstage dance concerts, running from October 2013 to April 2014.

“This exciting season features the new and the newly imagined,” says Beth Schachter, newly-appointed chair of the department. “We are presenting world premieres and fresh versions of classics, spanning international topics and American issues through comedic and serious projects.”

The season begins with “New Voices,” Oct. 2-6, a new-play festival featuring the work of students and alumni. The festival features four world premiere plays, with Muhlenberg faculty member Matthew Moore as artistic director.

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” Oct. 25 through Nov. 3, directed by Charles Richter, is the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ final, unfinished novel, filled with mistaken identity, humor, and audience participation. And since the story is unfinished, the audience gets to vote at each performance on how the play will end.

“Moving Stories,” Nov. 14-16, features original choreography by the department’s upperclass dance majors, in a variety of genres and styles. The concert showcases dance as storytelling, narration in human form, addressing themes as broad ranging as the students’ own diverse backgrounds. Karen Dearborn serves as artistic director.

Shakespeare’s rarely produced “The Winter’s Tale,” Nov. 20-24, shows the Bard at his most brilliantly experimental. Director Troy Dwyer’s lean, quick-paced re-envisioning will feature original music and dance by Muhlenberg student artists.

“Master Choreographers,” Feb. 6-8, with artistic direction by Karen Dearborn, features seven works by faculty and guest artists, including a restaging of “D-Man in the Waters” by acclaimed choreographer Bill T. Jones. The “D-Man” performance will be the culmination of a residency by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, sponsored by the Dexter F. and Dorothy H. Baker Foundation.

“The Learned Ladies,” Feb 20-23, directed by James Peck, is one of the most popular comedies of 17th century playwright Molière. A satire of academic pretention, the play will feature a faculty spotlight performance by Francine Roussel in the role of Belise.

The “New Visions” Directors’ Festival, March 19-23, will feature the work of three student theater artists. The festival includes: Tom Stoppard’s “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour,” directed by Ben Wald ’14; “butyou’reaman” a one-person show by Matt Dicken about his experience as a gay man visiting India; and “Still Life with Iris,” directed by Alex McKhann, Muhlenberg’s first mainstage student-directed children’s show.

“Dance Emerge,” April 10-13, showcases the ideas and talents of our brightest young choreographers. The intimate Dance Studio Theatre is the backdrop for innovative, explorative dance pieces. Artistic direction is by Corrie Franz Cowart.

Caryl Churchill’s “Mad Forest,” April 24-26, directed by Beth Schachter, is a play of romance and politics, bookended by weddings. Set during and after the 1989 Romanian Revolution, the play uses the tale of two families to evoke the internal psychological landscapes of people suffering under oppression. The production features a faculty spotlight performance by Holly Cate.

The mainstage performance series is produced by Muhlenberg College’s acclaimed Theatre & Dance Department, Muhlenberg is a liberal arts college of more than 2,200 students in Allentown, Pa. The college offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theater and dance. The Princeton Review consistently ranks Muhlenberg’s production program in the top ten in the nation, and the Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theater and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States.

If you enjoy all things Lancaster County and Christmas in a small town atmosphere, the Village of Intercourse is the place to be this weekend. Live music, children’s activities, food, crafts, live Nativity, a presentation of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol“, Santa and more!

Festivities start this weekend (December 4, 2010). Click on the link below to see the calendar of events. I would suggest perusing the rest of the website to learn more!